eternal life

The power of the grave

In the book of Hosea, God used the analogy of a marriage to depict his relationship with the nation of Israel so that his people would understand he wanted a personal relationship with them. The prophet Hosea was chosen to model that relationship and was told to marry an adultress because Israel had been unfaithful to God and did not deserve his mercy. The only way Hosea could model God’s love effectively was to forgive his wife and redeem her from a life of prostitution.

The story of Hosea’s wife was meant to portray God’s redemption of his people, but it also showed his people that God’s love was not dependent on their behavior. In spite of their wickedness, God intended to fulfill his promise to king David that he would establish David’s throne for ever (1 Chronicles 17:12). In order to do that, God had to not only forgive his people, but provide a way for them to live eternally. Through Hosea, the LORD declared, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave: I will redeem them from death” (Hosea 13:14).

As when Hosea bought his wife Gomer for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer and a half of barley (Hosea 3:3), God planned to ransom his people. The Hebrew word translated ransom, padah indicates that some intervening or substitutionary action effects a release from an undesirable condition…When God is the subject of padah, the word emphasizes His complete, sovereign freedom to liberate human beings” (6299). Rather than taking away his children’s freedom to choose sin, God intended to take away Satan’s ability to punish them for it.

The power of the grave was the power of Satan to separate someone from the love of God. Sin was the key that enabled Satan to lock a person in the prison called hell, or the grave. Satan was given the key to hell when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:5-6), but God told them he would one day take that power away (Genesis 3:15). The message God communicated through Hosea was that the day of their redemption was about to arrive.

Although Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection was still hundreds of years away when Hosea spoke to Israel, the events were relatively close compared to the thousands of years that had transpired since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden. As if Hosea had a clear picture of the process of salvation, he stated, “O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously” (Hosea 14:1-2).

Imagine

Psalm 48 is a vision of a future or end state of the capital of God’s kingdom. The psalmist refers to this city as the “city of God” (Psalm 48:1). Another way of looking at it would be as God’s hometown, the city where he actually lives. It may be hard to imagine God living on earth, but the Messianic name of God, Immanuel, means “with us (is) God” (6005) or God with us.

The amazing thing about Psalm 48 is that it appears to have been written after Israel was taken into captivity. The purpose of the psalm was probably twofold. First, it was a statement of faith that Jerusalem would survive Assyrian attack. Second, the psalm provided hope to those who dared to imagine that God’s presence on earth would one day be a reality.

The ability to imagine themselves as the final victors over every kingdom on earth gave the Israelites strength to endure their most difficult challenge, exile from their homeland. With hopeful expectation, the psalmist stated, “Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion” (Psalm 48:2). In other words, he wanted us to imagine the city of Good as a bright light that brings joy to the faces of everyone that sees it.

In addition to portraying the city of God as a place of hope, the psalmist also described mount Zion as an impenetrable fortress. The city’s elevation, proximity to the desert, and access to a water supply made it a perfect place of refuge, but the presence of God’s temple made it an intimidating citadel that seemed beyond capture. The psalmist declared, “For lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. They saw it, and so they marveled; they were troubled and hasted away” (Psalm 48:4-5).

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the city of God is its eternal existence. God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants was that he would give them the land of Canaan for ever (Genesis 13:15). When Jesus establishes his kingdom on earth, it says in Luke 1:33, “He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” According to this promise, the psalmist stated, “As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever” (Psalm 48:8).

Trying to imagine a city without end would be impossible if it weren’t for the concept we have of heaven. Even though we can’t see it, we know heaven exists and that it is God’s home right now. Somehow, in the future, heaven and earth will intersect in such a way that eternal life will be natural for human beings. The key to this intersection is Jesus and his triumph over death. As if to explain the need for death to occur before there could be eternal life, the psalmist stated, “For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death” (Psalm 48:14).

 

A future kingdom

Just as there is an end to every individual life, so also, there will one day be an end to all life on earth. Life as we know it now on earth is temporary. Some people believe that human life is only temporal, but Isaiah spoke of a kingdom that would have no end, one that would be established for ever (Isaiah 9:7). This eternal kingdom will be ruled by a king referred to as the Messiah or “anointed one” (4899).

Eternal life is typically associated with heaven, a place people go to after they die. While it is true that eternal life comes after death, the end of temporal life on earth, eternal life is not exclusive to heaven. Isaiah said the Messiah’s kingdom would exist “from henceforth even for ever” (Isaiah 9:7). The word translated henceforth, ‘attâh (at – taw´) means at this time or now (6258), so there is a connection between the temporal and eternal aspects of life.

Isaiah said of the Messiah, “there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots” (Isaiah 11:1). The term translated stem, gezer refers to something cut off. Previously, Isaiah spoke of the remnant of Israel “as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them” and said, “so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof” (Isaiah 6:13).

The substance of a tree is its trunk, which becomes a stump when it is cut off. Isaiah’s depiction of the Messiah as a branch that shall grow out of the roots of Jesse, was a reference to something eternal coming forth out of something that appears to be dead. Another way of looking at a tree’s trunk/stump is that it contains the essence of life which remains even after the tree has been cut down. Therefore, the substance of the tree’s temporal existence, the trunk, and its eternal existence, the stump, are one and the same.

Isaiah’s description of eternal life on earth was characterized by an absence of conflict in the animal kingdom. He said, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6). It is not absolutely clear, but it appears that time will still exist during the period when the Messiah will reign on earth. Isaiah stated, “in that day there shall be a root of Jesse…and it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people” (Isaiah 11:10-11, emphasis added).

Typically, a day is a 24-hour period of time, but the Hebrew word yowm (yome) can refer to an entire period or indefinitely long eras of time, as well as, theological categories rather than periods of time (3117). A clue as to which type of day Isaiah was referring to are his statements “For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD” (Isaiah 111:9) and “the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people” (Isaiah 11:11).

Isaiah was describing the future consummation of the Messianic kingdom, which has yet to be established. Most likely, this will be a period of time when both temporal and eternal aspects of life will be evident on earth. A temporal aspect of this period of time will be people continuing to get saved; the gospel will be preached and people will accept the Messiah as their Savior (Isaiah 12:2-4). An eternal aspect of this period of time is that the Messiah, Jesus will be back on earth. It says in Isaiah 12:6, “Cry out and shout thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.”

It’s not the end

“The LORD said to my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Psalm 110:1). Jesus specifically used this verse to refer to his divine origin (Matthew 24:41-45). In his message about the resurrection of the dead, Paul used this verse to conclude that Christ had defeated all enemies, including death (1 Corinthians 15:25-26).

The issue that I believe David was trying to resolve in Psalm 110 was the eternal nature of God’s kingdom. David had spent most of his life establishing God’s kingdom on earth. In the end, I think he realized that ruling over people was a divine act that only Christ, God in human flesh, was capable of doing.

Part of what makes eternity unfathomable to us is the concept of death. Paul labeled death the last enemy because he wanted us to understand that Satan uses death to change our perspective of life. He wants us to think of life as temporary, something that comes to an end.

David’s view of death is revealed in 2 Samuel 12:20-23. After his child died, David knew he would see him again:

Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

The word translated go in 2 Samuel 12:23 is hâlak (haw – lak´). Halak means to walk. “Essentially, this root refers to movement without any suggestion of direction” (1980). David expected to go somewhere after he died and that he would be able to reconnect with people he had known during his life on earth. David did not perceive death to be an ending, but a continuation of some sort to the life he already had.

The miracle of life

“For the LORD commanded the blessing even life for evermore” (Psalm 133:3). The sustainment of life on planet earth is something I think we all take for granted. If God’s blessing were not on his creation, the human race would have become extinct a long time ago.

The miracle of life is that God’s provision is continuous, his resources are never diminished. Beyond the life we have here, God has commanded that eternal life be given to those who accept his son as savior and it is a free gift to all who want to receive it.

The manna that appeared in the desert to feed the Israelites while they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years is a picture of the free gift of eternal life. The manna came from the dew that settled on the ground. It blanketed the earth with abundant nourishment and was available for anyone that wanted to gather it.

The only restriction on gathering manna was that you could only take enough for one day at a time except the day before the Sabbath. When the day was over, the food rotted and had to be thrown away.

The restriction on the gift of eternal life is that it is only available while you are alive on earth. Everyday, the gift is there, waiting to be received. Each day of life provides another opportunity to take it. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

Jesus was referred to as the bread of life because like the manna that appeared in the desert, he was able to sustain life indefinitely (John 6:21-40). Jesus explained to his disciples that unity with him meant eternal provision, all who believed would be permanently connected to his Father in heaven whose resources were unlimited and always available.

The miracle of life that Jesus offered was based on a unity that went beyond an external physical or spiritual connection. Jesus said, “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him” (John 6:56). Through what we now refer to as communion, it became possible for Christ to dwell or stay in believers.

Jesus differentiated the life he could provide from that provided by the manna by stating that everyone that ate the manna was dead or separated from God (John 6:58). It did not provide a permanent connection.

The unity that David experienced in his kingdom was just a foretaste of the unity believers experience in Christ. Although David knew the LORD, he was not connected to him the same way we are. David did not go to heaven when he died. He had to wait until Jesus was crucified to receive the miracle of eternal life.